1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to fishing boat chairs and control instruments and, more particularly, is directed toward a platform utilized in combination with the chair and control instruments of a bass fishing boat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fishing boats are frequently provided with a chair which is either secured to the deck or rotatable about a fixed pedestal. The fisherman sits in the chair for comfort, support and leverage while fishing. The chair may be turned to one side of the boat or the other, depending upon the particular fishing area of interest.
Many modern fishing boats are also provided with electric fishing motors for trolling and the like. Such motors are commonly provided with a control device in the form of a foot pedal in order to obviate the necessity for manual control of the electric motor while fishing. While such electric motors have been found to be extremely popular as a result of their low noise level, use of the foot pedal control is rather inconvenient. If the control is not fastened to a part of the boat, it may not be readily accessible when needed and may be easily turned over and accidentally actuated. If, on the other hand, the foot pedal control is fastened in one position to the bottom of the boat, it obviously becomes difficult to use by anyone who is not immediately adjacent the place where it is fastened.
For example, if the foot pedal control is mounted to the center deck of a boat, adjacent a standard fishing chair, as the fisherman turns to starboard to fish from that side of the boat, the foot pedal may wind up in a position where the fisherman is forced to operate it with his left foot, which can be extremely inconvenient and uncomfortable to a right-footed person. On the other hand, as the fisherman turns his chair to the port side of the boat for fishing, he may at times be required to extend his right leg at a rather sharp angle in order to operate the foot pedal. This quite naturally becomes extremely tiresome within a short period of time.
Further, in such fishing boats, it is generally necessary to provide a foot rest or surface against which a fisherman may brace himself at the time of "setting the hook" in a fish. For example, the Ottinger U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,630 describes a wedge-shaped platform which is utilized in conjunction with a clip-on fishing chair to steer an outboard motor. An adjustable vertical support member is provided for setting the height of the foot platform. The platform may be moved to different parts of the boat in order to allow the fisherman leeway to fish from various positions of the chair. However, the foot platform being detached from the chair, must be manually moved each time the chair is moved, an inconvenience in and of itself.
Modern fishing boats may also be equipped with sophisticated instrumentation, such as depth finders, whose indicator face should preferably be within clear view of the fisherman at all times. However, in view of the frequent changing of orientation of the fisherman, it becomes difficult, as in the case of the foot pedal control mentioned above, to maintain visual access to such instruments without unduly diverting one's attention.
I am also aware of the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,417,723; 3,151,910; 2,989,021; and 2,960,057. Each of the foregoing discloses a combination fishing chair-outboard motor control for a fishing boat. None of the foregoing, however, provides any ready solution to the disadvantages noted above with respect to the foot pedal control, the footrest or brace, special instrumentation placement, or the like.